Houston-area small businesses are planning more hiring

Our discussion warranted a setting this grand, but we settled for a conference room at the Chronicle instead (AFP)

You may have noticed things were a little quiet on the blog yesterday. That’s because I was hosting my annual small business roundtable. The theme this year was more upbeat, and most of the companies represented said they expect to add jobs this year.

That could be an important indicator because small businesses create most of the jobs in our economy. This is the third year I’ve done the roundtable in hopes of offering some insight into the recovery.

It’s not, of course, a scientific survey, but the emphasis on hiring is significant change from last year, when a different group of business owners expressed concern about a lack of capital. Demand was picking up, but the business owners said weren’t sure if they could get the funding needed to take advantage of it.

Many of the business owners in this year’s panel reported sales growth during the past year, a trend they expect to continue in 2012. Even some businesses that depend on discretionary income, such as concerts and events, said they see signs of improvement. Consumer-facing businesses, though, such as restaurants and retail, are less upbeat.

I’ll have a complete list of the participants and more details on what they said in my Sunday column.